I have no legal updates for you from our local Supremes. Instead, this week is about an important task that no one (well…almost no one) enjoys: editing. 

Proofreading your own work is uniquely painful for a number of reasons:

• You’re tired. This final step comes at the end of a very long process. I usually feel a strange mixture of anxiety and mental exhaustion by this point of briefing. Adding this last tedious task doesn’t help matters.
• You’re never done editing. Each time I spot a typo, I then feel the need to repeat the process all over again to avoid missing something else. After all, you can always proofread one more time (i.e., you are never truly done editing).  
• You skim what you know. It is exceedingly hard to catch your own mistakes if done incorrectly.
• And…it’s kinda boring. 

To combat editing fatigue, I’ve implemented a few rules for myself:

1. Take a break first.

The longer the time between writing and when you sit down to proofread, the better. You will notice things you missed. I am convinced this is because we skip over the parts we know well. When we do that, we aren’t reading every word, citation, or piece of punctuation. If you take a long break, you will find that it is easier to catch a confusing sentence or typo. You also won’t make the mistake of reading what you think a sentence says rather than what is written.

2. Read Your Work Out Loud.

Don’t skip reading your work out loud. Hear how it sounds. It will force you to pay attention to odd phrases that you might have missed.

Note: Microsoft Word will even read your brief to you. Click the “Review” heading at the top of your document, and then “Read Aloud.” Voila!

3. Phone a Friend.

Loop in a colleague. Have a buddy at work who will read your drafts, if you don’t have an internal policy requiring this already. I’ve hired folks to proofread for me, and it is helpful.

Be sure to tell your editors that you love criticism. Don’t ever trust a reader who tells you that they have nothing to add. Writing is never perfect. My former supervisor used to tear my briefs apart. This wasn’t mean—it was the opposite. My reviewer put a great deal of time and energy into helping me. He just believed I could do better. So I did.

Similarly, don’t let negative feedback get you down. Use it as inspiration. One of my worst fears is doing something unintentionally wrong or making a mistake and never learning what I should from it. If you have someone in your corner who wants to help you, thank them for their honest feedback and learn from them.

4. Don’t Do Anything Drastic At the Last Minute.

Beware of last-minute rewrites. I have frequently decided that I hated a section or paragraph I’d written… on the eve of my deadline. Despite my brief being “finished,” I will almost always find an excuse to tinker with my writing. Be careful with this—sometimes you will inject a shiny, new error into your draft.

5. Use a hard copy.

Print your brief. I hate to waste paper and am otherwise entirely paperless. But this is important. Online it can be easy to miss odd formatting. On paper? You will immediately notice an extra space or missing word.

6. Treat yourself.

Make it as enjoyable as possible. Get a fancy coffee. Grab a blanket and light a candle. Take a walk outside first as a reward for getting to this editing phase. I read Atomic Habits recently and loved this tip: One way to make a new habit stick is to tack it onto one you enjoy. Do you like a snack in the afternoon? Make getting your reward a part of your routine for editing.

Final Thoughts

Please note that despite my best efforts, I continually find typos in my own work. This especially occurs on the eve of oral argument when I’m rereading my brief. Better still, when I’ve sent my brief to colleagues for a moot. Friends, it is never easier to spot a typo than after you hit “send” in an email. The same is true for a brief. Did you receive filing confirmation? My ability to spot typos instantly doubles. It’s just the way things go.  

My writing is never perfect. But I know I can always do better next time. In this profession, we are always learning.

Have tips to add? Please let me know. I love hearing from you.